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The setting is a temple of global commerce, an Apple store in Amsterdam, its clean lines and glass walls suggesting a world of seamless connectivity. Into this space walks Ilian, a Bulgarian visitor on a simple mission to replace his lost AirPods. His mundane errand becomes the inciting incident for iHostage, a film that grounds its terror in the terrifyingly plausible.

A gunman named Ammar enters, fires shots that shatter the minimalist calm, and yanks Ilian into the center of an international crisis. With the Bulgarian as his human shield, Ammar issues his demands: a fortune in cryptocurrency and safe passage.

Outside, police forces scramble to contain the situation. Inside, other customers and employees are scattered, some hiding upstairs, others crammed into a supply closet, all nodes in a network of fear. The film immediately establishes a scenario rooted not in fantasy, but in the specific anxieties of our highly technological and public world.

Streaming

The Dutch adaptation of Amazon original series “Modern Love” will premiere on Prime Video this winter. The series features stories about love and relationships, with each episode based on the popular column from The New York Times. The stories in the Dutch series all take place in Amsterdam, from central station, the Amstel to Amsterdam-Noord and Zuidoost.

“Modern Love Amsterdam” is produced by Nl Film, part of Banijay Benelux, with Sabine Brian as producer and Robert Alberdingk Thijm as showrunner. The episodes were written by Robert Alberdingk Thijm, Roos Ouwehand, Maud Wiemeijer, Anne Barnhoorn, and Esther Duysker. The directors are Mijke de Jong, Boudewijn Koole, Mischa Kamp, Mustafa Duygulu, and Norbert ter Hall.

Jacomien Nijhof, head of Netherlands originals, Amazon Studios, said: ” ‘Modern Love Amsterdam’ is the series we wanted to make right now. A series that shows that love always wins, no matter how confusing the time we live in is.

Amazon relationships format Modern Love is taking that loving feeling into the Netherlands. A Dutch adaptation will premiere on Prime Video globally this winter.

The scripted anthology format, which is based on a popular column from The New York Times, began in the U.S. on Prime Video in 2019 before three Indian language versions and a Japanese remake were announced. The Dutch version, Modern Love Amsterdam, is the first in Europe.

Several high-profile Dutch directors and writers have collaborated on the series’ episodes, all of which take place in Amsterdam, in locations such as the city’s iconic train station to Amsterdam-Noord and Zuidoost.

Banijay Benelux-owned producer Nl Film is attached with Sabine Brian the producer and Robert Alberdingk Thijm as showrunner. The latter is a writer alongside Roos Ouwehand, Maud Wiemeijer, Anne Barnhoorn, and Esther Duysker and the directors are Mijke de Jong, Boudewijn Koole, Mischa Kamp, Mustafa Duygulu,...

Shudder Acquires Official Fantasia Festival Selection Moloch: "Shudder, AMC Network’s premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, has acquired rights to Dutch director Nico van den Brink’s directorial debut Moloch. The film, an official selection of the Fantasia International Film Festival, will be available exclusively on Shudder in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand on Thursday, July 21.

“Moloch is a bold and thrilling new folk horror that is sure to chill Shudder members this summer,” said Shudder general manager Craig Engler.

Added Nico van den Brink, ”I’m extremely excited to be working with Shudder in bringing Moloch to horror-lovers worldwide. The film will have a wonderful home there. I know we have some very creepy stories to tell in the Netherlands and I'm really looking forward to inviting Shudder's diverse and international audience into the unique world of local Dutch folklore.

Netherlands-based sales agent Dfw International has added romantic comedy “Costa!!” by Jon Karthaus, a follow-up to the 2001 Dutch cult classic “Costa!” by Johan Nijenhuis, to its Cannes Film Market slate.

Nijenhuis’ latest film “Yasmine’s Wedding” has also been added to the slate.

In “Costa!!” Anna (Abbey Hoes) and her best friend Bibi (Stephanie van Eer) travel to the Spanish coast to visit the famous Costa club where her mother Frida (Katja Schuurman) used to work only to find that it is no longer the place to be, but a run-down karaoke bar. Anna and her friends go all-out to win the battle of the bars and make Costa once again the hottest club on the strip. “Costa!!,” produced by Sabine Brian for Nl Film, was released in the Netherlands on April 28 and has racked up 100,000 admissions.

In “Yasmine’s Wedding,” produced by Ingmar Menning for Johan Nijenhuis & Co,...

First look at Nico van den Brink’s horror-thriller Moloch: "Production is underway in the Netherlands on director Nico van den Brink’s horror-thriller Moloch. With a screenplay by van den Brink and Daan Bakker, from a story by Nico van den Brink with additional support from Jaap Peter Enderle, Moloch is produced by Sabine Brian and Ronald Versteeg for Nl Film (Amsterdam). Todd Brown and Maxime Cottray are executive producing for XYZ Films. Moloch will be released theatrically throughout the Benelux by Splendid Film with XYZ Films representing worldwide sales outside of Benelux.

In the film, 38-year-old Betriek lives at the edge of a peat bog in the North of the Netherlands. When she and her family are attacked by a random stranger one night, Betriek sets out to find an explanation. The more she digs, the more she becomes convinced that she is being hunted by something ancient.

Exclusive: Production is underway in the Netherlands on director Nico van den Brink’s debut feature Moloch, which has been boarded for world sales by XYZ Films. Splendid Film has taken distribution rights in Benelux.

In the horror-thriller, 38-year-old Betriek lives at the edge of a peat bog in the North of the Netherlands. When she and her family are attacked by a random stranger one night, Betriek sets out to find an explanation. The more she digs, the more she becomes convinced that she is being hunted by something ancient. Today, we can reveal a first look image from the movie.

The Dutch-language pic is being produced by Sabine Brian and Ronald Versteeg for Nl Film in Amsterdam. Todd Brown and Maxime Cottray are executive-producing for XYZ. Cast is being kept under wraps.

Van den Brink has previously garnered attention for his shorts. One of those, The Burden, also produced by Nl Film,...

In today’s Global Bulletin, Amazon begins filling 1,000 apprenticeships coming to the U.K. in 2021, ViacomCBS Networks International appoints Anna Priest as senior VP and chief marketing officer in the U.K., Nl Film fills out its leadership teams and Viddsee begins streaming spoof series “AI Love K-Drama” in Singapore.

Apprenticeship

Amazon has launched a recruitment drive to fill 1,000 new full-time apprenticeship positions across the U.K. over the coming year. Paid apprenticeships will be available in 25 fields including engineering, broadcast production, creative design, It, heal, safety and the environment. Two new broadcast production assistants will be recruited as part of the apprentices scheme and will join the Amazon Prime Video U.K. Originals team, working with Dan Grabiner on unscripted and Johnny Lewsley and Lydia Hampson on scripted.

Of the 1,000 positions, 100 are degree-level with 500 more going to current Amazon employees to both retrain in their current position and teach...

Fremantle sells Luca Guadagnino series; Wattpad, Nl Film team for Muslim young adult romance; and All3Media sells AIDS crisis drama.

Fremantle has closed a raft of global deals on “Call Me By Your Name” director Luca Guadagnino‘s television debut “We Are Who We Are.”

The eight-part series has travelled to 133 territories worldwide, including M-Net (South Africa), HBO Europe, HBO Latin America (Latin America and Caribbean), Starzplay, Vodafone (Greece), more.tv (Russia), Go Plc (Malta), BluTV (Turkey), Sbs (Australia), Bell Media’s Super Écran and Crave (French Canada) and Watcha (South Korea). Fremantle has also sold the series to BBC Three (U.K.), where it will launch Nov. 22.

A HBO-Sky series, produced by Lorenzo Mieli for The Apartment and Mario Gianani for Wildside, both Fremantle companies, with Small Forward, “We Are Who We Are” follows two American teenagers who live on a U.S. military base in Italy.

The cast includes Chloë Sevigny,...

Amsterdam-based Nl Film and Hupe Film in Cologne have boarded Jo Baier’s upcoming Nazi war criminal horror thriller “Life Through a Dead Man’s Eyes.”

The companies join co-producers Films in Motion (Fim), the Berlin-based shingle run by American producer René Asch, and Angelika Mohr’s Morefilms in Munich, which is also handling world sales.

German thesps Herbert Knaup and Matthias Habich topline the supernatural thriller, which follows a former SS concentration camp guard, played by Habich, desperately trying to avoid capture by a Nazi hunter (Knaup). Seeking to avoid capture, the old Nazi assumes an unlikely identity and hides in the most improbable place.

Budgeted at €2.5 million ($2.7 million), “Life Through a Dead Man’s Eyes” is set to go into preproduction later this year.

The award-winning Baier (“Henry of Navarre”) will direct the German-Dutch co-production from a script by American screenwriter J. Frank James.

“We’re thankful for...

Lagardere Studios Distribution has boarded “Commandos,” a Dutch high-voltage war drama series directed by Ivan Lopez Nunez and Hanro Smitsman.

Based on an idea by Oscar Van Woensel and Boudewijn Rosenmuller, the series follows John, an old Commando who led Dutch Special Forces on a covert mission to Northern Nigeria where they had to rescue an important hostage kidnapped by Boko Haram. The mission turned into a nightmare and many people, including civilians, were killed.

Three years later, John, who is still haunted by the tragedy, is in charge of protecting a Nigerian Minister visiting the Netherlands as a guest of honor. As he gets confronted with the murderer who tried to eliminate his former comrades in Nigeria, John has to fight, potentially compromising himself, his family and friends.

“Commandos” was written by Oscar Van Woensel, Mischa Alexander, Jochum Ten Have, Michiel Van Jaarsveld, Willem Bosch, Vincent Van Helm, Bastiaan Kroeger and Pollo de Pimentel.

Israeli actor Itay Tiran also stars in Eran Riklis’ latest film.

London-based Film Constellation has sold out its Ben Kingsley and Monica Bellucci spy drama Spider In The Web and struck a North American deal with Vertical Entertainment.

Eran Riklis’ latest film centres on a young agent dispatched to follow an older operative whose behaviour has come into question and is following a tip on a chemical weapons sale to a Middle Eastern dictatorship.

Israeli actor Itay Tiran (Lebanon) also stars. Film Constellation co-financed Spider In The Web and announced the project and previously licensed Germany (Concorde/Telemuenchen), Greece-Cyprus (Tanweer...

The Netherlands and Austria have chosen Joram Lürsen’s “The Resistance Banker” and Ruth Beckermann’s “The Waldheim Waltz” as their respective foreign-language Oscar candidates.

“The Resistance Banker” is set in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam during World War II and tells the true story of Walraven van Hall, a banker who financed the Dutch Resistance by defrauding the Central Bank. Netflix has acquired global rights to the film outside of China, Belgium and the Netherlands and plans a rollout on Sept.11.

The movie was produced by Sytze van der Laan, Sabine Brian and Alain de Levita for the Dutch banner Nl Film and TV, in co-production with Eo-Evangelical Broadcasting and Belgium’s Zilvermeer Productions.

Lürsen is best-known for directing “In Orange” and “The Magicians.” “The Resistance Banker” has been nominated for a record 12 Golden Calf nominations, the national film awards of the Netherlands Film Festival. “The Resistance Banker” is also one of...

The Netherlands has picked Joram Lursen's period drama The Resistance Banker to represent the country in the race for the 2019 foreign-language film Oscar.

Set during World War II when the Netherlands was under Nazi occupation, The Resistance Banker tells the true story of Walraven van Hall (Barry Atsma), a Dutch banker who defrauded the Nazi-controlled Central Bank of millions — money he then funneled to the Dutch Resistance.

The Resistance Banker was written by Marieke van der Pol and Thomas van der Ree & Winchester McFly and produced by Sytze van der Laan, Sabine Brian and Alain de Levita for Nl ...

The Netherlands has picked Joram Lursen's period drama The Resistance Banker to represent the country in the race for the 2019 foreign-language film Oscar.

Set during World War II when the Netherlands was under Nazi occupation, The Resistance Banker tells the true story of Walraven van Hall (Barry Atsma), a Dutch banker who defrauded the Nazi-controlled Central Bank of millions — money he then funneled to the Dutch Resistance.

The Resistance Banker was written by Marieke van der Pol and Thomas van der Ree & Winchester McFly and produced by Sytze van der Laan, Sabine Brian and Alain de Levita for Nl ...

Film Constellation has pre-sold Ben Kingsley and Monica Bellucci espionage thriller “Spider in the Web” in territories including Germany and China, as the stars are seen together in an exclusive first-look image from the movie.

Production has just wrapped on the film, which is helmed by Eran Riklis and was shot in Belgium and the Netherlands. Concorde has picked it up for Austria and Germany, and Lemon Tree Media for China. Tanweer has prebought it for Greece and Cyprus. A studio deal is thought to be in the cards in another major territory.

Set in modern-day Europe and inspired by true events, the story follows a once-lauded but aging secret agent, Adereth (Kingsley), whose bosses want to put him out to grass. He embarks on a covert mission that involves finding the enigmatic Angela (Bellucci), while also being tracked by a rival agent played by Itay Tiran (“Lebanon”). Who is hunting whom becomes the question.

Author: Zehra Phelan

Spectre’s Monica Bellucci and Oscar-winning actor Ben Kingsley have signed up to star in Eran Riklis (Lemon Tree) counterespionage thriller, Spider in the Web.

Inspired by true events, the story focuses a once highly-lauded secret agent, Adereth – played by Kingsley – who’s is deemed to be past his prime by his superiors. An opportunity for last-minute redemption presents itself in a covert mission as he discovers a lead on the sale of chemical weapons to a Middle Eastern dictatorship. But with Mossad placing young agent Daniel on his tail, and his target, the enigmatic Angela (Bellucci) blurring lines, Adereth begins to realize the hunter may become the hunted.

In describing his new project, Riklis said “Spider is an intimate story, depicting the complexities of trust, loyalty and betrayal. It explores my central universal motifs of self-discovery and identity, in a contemporary-set thriller mirroring current geopolitics“.

Spider...

Berlin winner Eran Riklis directing project.

Source: Film Constellation

Ben Kingsley and Monica Bellucci

Ben Kingsley, Monica Bellucci and Israeli actor Itay Tiran will lead the cast of contemporary spy thriller Spider In The Web for director Eran Riklis.

Riklis’ previous credits include 2009 drama The Lemon Tree, an award-winner in Berlin’s Panorama strand, 2012 Toronto selection Zaytoun and 2004 comedy-drama The Syrian Bride.

Set to shoot in spring 2018 in Belgium and Holland, the film will see Kingsley play a highly-lauded secret agent, Adereth, who is deemed to be past his prime by his superiors. Haunted by his past, a last-minute redemption opportunity presents itself when he discovers a lead to the sales of chemical weapons to a middle-eastern dictatorship.

Bellucci is playing his enigmatic target Angela, while Tiran is young Mossad agent Daniel.

Writers on the film are Gidon Maron and Emmanuel Nakkache.

The project is an Israel-Belgium-Holland-Portugal co-production. Producers are Riklis, Michael Sharfshtein of [link...